The invention relates to teaching aids. More particularly, the present invention relates to a teaching aid for facilitating conducting instruction at a plurality of different sites.
In the past, a single teacher, particularly a teacher in the primary grades, was assigned to provide instruction in a wide variety of subjects. For such instruction, it worked well to assign that teacher to a single classroom from which virtually all of the instruction delivered by that teacher was made available to students. In recent years, there has been a growing tendency toward specialization of instruction. This is particularly true in the areas of music instruction, art instruction, and science instruction. The providers of such instruction are typically required to move from classroom to classroom in order to address the largest number of students possible. In order to accommodate such mobility, the school administration must stock each classroom in which such instruction is to be given with the necessary teaching props to facilitate the instruction. This specialized instruction typically requires rather expensive teaching props. Accordingly, school administrations have balked at stocking each classroom with such teaching props. This has forced the teachers providing such instruction to become mobile.
In the past, the means for providing such mobility has been makeshift at best. Typically such specialized teachers utilized library carts or utility carts to transport their teaching props from classroom to classroom. Such carts are transportation only and are not designed to provide for delivering instruction from props disposed on the cart. Accordingly, the teacher was required to spend substantial class time first unloading the props from the cart to a suitable teaching surface and second reloading the props onto the cart for transport to a remote teaching site after delivering the instruction.
A further deterrent to using such improvised carts as a teaching station was the lack of electrical power available to such carts. Today, many more teaching props utilized in specialized instruction require electrical power. For example, in the primary grades, music instruction almost universally requires the availability of a portable source of sound delivered from stored media such as what is commonly termed as a xe2x80x9cboom boxxe2x80x9d. Additionally, science projects frequently require the use of small electrical motors and other electrical apparati as props for such instruction.
Additionally, there is a need to provide security for the teaching props when they are not being used for instruction. Many of such props, particularly the aforementioned xe2x80x9cboom boxxe2x80x9d, are highly pilferable. When using the aforementioned makeshift carts, the highly pilferable items must be removed from the carts at the end of a teaching day and stored in a secure location.
There is a definite need in the teaching profession to provide for a mobile teaching station that is readily movable from classroom to classroom. The mobile teaching station should provide storage for all the teaching props necessary. The mobile teaching station should further have a teaching surface from which instruction can be delivered without unloading the teaching props from the mobile teaching station. Additionally, electrical power should be readily available when the use of electrically powered teaching props is required. Further, the storage provided in conjunction with the mobile teaching station should be securable during hours when instruction is not being delivered. It should be understood that the need for a mobile teaching station is widespread and has long been vocalized by those teachers having the specialized skills that require classroom-to-classroom mobility. Until the present, no one has stepped forward to meet those needs.
The mobile teaching station of the present invention substantially meets the aforementioned needs of the industry. The mobile teaching station is readily transportable from classroom to classroom. Storage is provided that is tailored to the specific types of teaching props to be used by the teacher. The mobile teaching station incudes a teaching surface that facilitates delivery of instruction to students. Instruction can be delivered utilizing teaching props that are removed from the self-contained storage and placed on the teaching surface. Additionally, the mobile teaching station of the present invention makes provision for supplying electrical power to the mobile teaching station for operation of electrically powered teaching props. Further, after returning the teaching props to their self-contained storage, security panels are available to secure the teaching props and to minimize pilferage.
The present invention is a mobile teaching station including a mobile teaching surface designed to support a plurality of teaching props during instruction of student. At least one source of electric power is available to the mobile teaching surface. A mobile storage facility for storing the teaching props is disposed proximate the mobile teaching surface and operably coupled thereto. The mobile teaching station further includes devices for readily transporting the mobile teaching surface to a desired teaching site. The present invention is further a method of facilitating mobile teaching of students including the steps of (a) providing a mobile teaching surface designed to support a plurality of teaching props during instruction of students, (b) making available at least one source of electric power to the mobile teaching surface, (c) providing a mobile storage facility for storing the teaching props proximate the mobile teaching surface and operably coupled thereto, and (d) providing devices for readily transporting the mobile teaching surface to a desired teaching site.